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“Jungles” of unwanted and toxic vegetation have sprung up after council gardeners were largely banned from using chemicals due to environmental concerns. Irate residents say that even when weedkillers are applied, they have been so diluted they cannot harm monster invaders such as hogweed.
North Yorkshire County Council says it has been experimenting with using boiling water to kill weeds. But with unsightly plants now growing 30 inches high across the region, the “green” approach has been branded a failure.
North Yorkshire has more than 5,500 miles of roads running through tourist hot spots such as the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, made famous by vet Alf Wight in his Herriot novels.
Councillor Bryn Griffiths said: “I have had complaints from residents that their pavements look like a green corridor for wildlife.
“You are probably talking about a combine harvester going around some of our estates to get the weeds out.
“What we are looking at is gulleys getting blocked in future and we’ll have flooding which is entirely avoidable.”
Residents say the “weed-emic” is due to the authority using particularly weak weedkiller, while also delaying clearing weeds until the end of July, instead of starting in May.
The authority’s executive member for highways, Councillor Don Mackenzie, said an increase in weeds is due to mild winters, reduced use of salt, plus less traffic and pedestrians during lockdown.
He also admitted the council did not want to use chemicals more than once annually “due to the environmental consequences”.
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